


Viva Las Ghostbusters

by LuvBusters



Category: Ghostbusters (Movie - 1984), The Real Ghostbusters
Genre: F/M, Humor, Language, Suicide, Warnings for trigger sensitive - Chapter 6, secret romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:00:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23071348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuvBusters/pseuds/LuvBusters
Summary: After defeating Gozer, the guys face another call at a casino in Las Vegas. They decide to go, taking Janine for extra help.
Relationships: Egon Spengler/Janine Melnitz
Comments: 57
Kudos: 13





	1. No Rest for the Weary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys have just defeated Gozer and now have another job waiting for them in Las Vegas.

Egon hails a cab and helps Janine in, then joins her. As the cab heads towards the firehouse, Janine updates Egon. 

“We got a call right before I left to meet you guys at the Shandor Building! You guys have a call in Las Vegas!”

Egon smiled. “We’ll let the others know when they return. First, I want some time with you.” He pulled her closer, leaning in and kissing her deeply on the lips. He pulled back as he realized she was trembling. “What’s wrong?” He used his fingertips to tilt her chin up so he could look at her directly.

“Oh Egon, I was just so scared! When I saw that huge explosion, I held my breath until we could see movement up there. I couldn’t make out which one was you; I was just thankful you all made it.”

He pulled her in for a big hug, rubbing her back and whispering comforting words. She had calmed down by the time they arrived at the firehouse. Egon helped her out and they walked into what was left of their headquarters. 

“Wow! This is gonna be a full time job just getting this place remodeled!” Janine exclaimed. 

Egon was frowning as he warily looked around. “I’m afraid you’re right. We don’t have the time to take on that job in Las Vegas!”

“No Egon, you guys need to go. The guy said he’d make it worth coming out for. And admit it: we could use the money.”

He smiled as he rested his hands on her waist, pulling her close. “As always, Ms. Melnitz, you’re right.” He leaned down, kissing her again on the lips. 

As she broke the kiss, she grinned at Egon. “Ya know, we’re gonna have to tell the others about us soon?”

He returned his own grin. “Probably, but not right now.”

Janine narrowed her eyes but smiled. “You’re enjoying all the sneaking around, aren’t you?!”

“I must admit, Venkman is starting to question my whereabouts. So yes, watching him squirm has been quite enjoyable.”

Janine giggled. “Ok, you decide when to tell them. Right now probably ain’t the best time.”

Egon took her by the hand, slowly leading her upstairs. “Until then, why don’t we make sure everything in the lab is still intact?” He raised an eyebrow.

Janine’s heart skipped a beat. “Absolutely! It’ll take them a while to get through that crowd!” 

Egon closed and locked the lab door.

********************  
Janine left the lab with a few minutes to spare before Ecto-1 returned to the firehouse. She ran to the bathroom to make sure her clothes and makeup looked ok. She was walking down the stairs as the guys were exiting the car. 

“Hey Janine! Where’s Iggy?” Ray shouted, obviously still excited and running on adrenaline.

She smiled. “He’s in the lab. We took a cab back; he was in a rush to see how much damage had been done.”

Peter eyed her suspiciously, searching for clues but not finding any. “Yeah, that fungus collection would be hard to replace!” He grinned smugly.

Janine just gave him a glare before looking at their vehicle. “Where’s Dana? I thought she left with you guys?”

“She wanted to get back to her place,” Winston said. 

She gave Peter a surprised look. “I’m shocked she didn’t stay with you, Dr. V!”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, she’s worried about her apartment. She said something about staying with her parents for a while; until she gets back on her feet.” He took two proton packs and prepared them to recharge in what was left of the basement. “Zed, think that generator has enough juice to recharge some of these?”

“It should; I’ll bring the other two down,” Winston replied. 

Ray stepped over to Janine. “He’s kinda bummed about her going out of town. He was hoping to get her out on a date.”

Janine nodded as she took in the real meaning behind Peter’s demeanor. 

Egon emerged from the lab and joined everyone downstairs. “Janine, have you mentioned the job to them?”

“I was about to, once Dr. V is back up here.”

“Wow! Another job?! Where?!” Ray shouted. 

“Las Vegas.”

“What about Vegas?” Peter asked as he returned to the garage area.

“Right before I left to meet you guys at the Shandor Building, we got a call. The guy owns a casino in Vegas; a ghost is scaring away all his customers. He wants you guys out there ASAP.”

“How much is he gonna pay?” Peter asked.

“He said he’d make it worth your while,” Janine said, smiling.

“HELL YEAH WE’LL GO!” Peter yelled.

Winston looked surprised. “Pete! Have you forgotten that we need to remodel this place?!”

Peter smiled, walked over to Winston and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Zed, m’man, we’re gonna need the money to rebuild this place! Besides, it’s Vegas! C’mon man!” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“We can double, maybe triple our money!” Ray shouted. 

Winston smiled. “Ok, fine. You win. Guess it couldn’t hurt to make some dough, huh?”

Peter slapped him on the back. “That’s right! So, Janine - call him back and tell him we’re accepting the job!”

Egon cleared his throat, stepping forward. 

“Sorry, Spengs. Don’t you agree?” Peter asked. 

“Yes, I agree. But I also think it would behoove us to bring Janine, as well!”

They all gave him a look of surprise, including Janine. 

Why?” Peter asked.

Egon counted on his fingers: “One, there’s nothing she can do here; Two, it’s dangerous for her to stay behind while we are gone; and Three, we can use the extra help.”

Winston and Ray nodded in agreement. 

Peter smiled. “Ok, sure. Pack some jeans and stuff you don’t mind getting slimed. I’ll pack an extra jumpsuit; mine is probably the only one that’ll fit you the best.”

“Thanks, Dr. V!” Janine beamed. 

“But this is not a vacation! You gamble on your own time!” He teased her. 

She simply smiled. “I took the biggest gamble when I took this job.” She grabbed her purse and headed towards the door. “We’re gonna need a few necessities if we’re gonna take this job. I’m gonna go get some pizzas; you guys can get started on getting out of those nasty jumpsuits!”


	2. Vegas Bound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ghostbusters and Janine are on their way to Las Vegas.

Janine returned to the firehouse with pizzas, paper plates, napkins and canned sodas . She sat them on her desk since that was pretty much the only place left intact enough to use. The kitchen area was destroyed as well as the bunk room. She started dishing out paper plates to everyone as they began to dig in. 

“Thanks Janine!” Ray cheered, trying carefully to not spray food. 

“No problem, Ray!” she replied as she handed out canned sodas. 

“Yeah, glad you thought about drinks and stuff too!” Winston added.

“Yeah, I knew the kitchen is gone so we needed everything.”

“Are the phone lines still working? We need to call that guy in Vegas!” Peter said. 

“Already done, Dr. V! I called from a pay phone before I got the pizzas!” 

“Wow! Great job!” Peter said. “I might need to come through with that raise for ya!”

Janine smirked. “Yeah, especially since I also arranged for you guys to stay at Park Central Hotel tonight! We’ve gotta fly out in the morning so all you need is one night.”

The guys were all astounded, smiling from ear to ear.

“Thank you! But how …?” Egon began.

Janine cut in. “You’re welcome! I got a good deal. You guys are heroes! They had no problem setting you all up for the night! And at a great price!”

Peter reached for his wallet. “Ok, how much is this gonna cost me?” A slight bit of sarcasm in his voice.

“Include it in my raise. That’s what credit cards are for!” Janine remarked. “You guys can’t sleep here, and my place is too small.”

Winston, Ray and Peter thought they saw Egon and Janine exchange a slight smile, but didn’t say anything. 

******************  
Later that evening, the guys were getting settled in their hotel room. They had packed everything they’d need for their trip to Las Vegas, including the proton packs and traps. 

While Egon was in the bathroom showering, Peter gathered Ray and Winston for a quick chat. “Is it my imagination or is there something going on between our mad scientist and lovely secretary?” His eyes had a mischievous glint.

Winston added, “I thought I was picking up on something, but I wasn’t sure.”

“Yeah! There’s a vibe but I haven’t actually seen anything. It’s more like subtle looks I’ve seen them give each other,” Ray said.

“How do we feel about it?” Peter asked, smiling.

“Personally, I think it’s great! Iggy hasn’t gotten any action since college!” Ray said excitedly.

“Yeah man, I’ve got no problem with it. As long as it doesn’t interfere with the job,” Winston said. “I mean, I don’t wanna worry about walking into a room and catching them going at it!” He chuckled.

“Yeah, I agree!” Peter added. “I think they’d make a good couple. I just don’t know why they’re sneaking around?”

“Maybe they think we won’t like it?” Ray replied. 

“Right, the whole ‘sleeping with my secretary’ scenario?” Winston added. 

“I see it as a relationship,” Peter said. “If he’s just banging her, I don’t like that idea. I don’t want the public to think a cheap office fling is going on if somebody catches them out.”

Just then, Egon exited the bathroom. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, we’re just chatting about the trip,” Peter said, quickly covering up their actual topic of conversation. 

“Yeah, we’re gonna have to be at the airport by 9:00am,” Winston said.

“So I’d better get a shower next!” Ray said, bolting for the bathroom. 

Peter sat back on the bed, his back resting against the headboard. “So, Janine came through really good for us! Looks like she’s gonna be a great asset!” He watched Egon’s face carefully for any subtle signs of emotion. 

But Egon has been trained for years by his father how to suppress things, so Peter wasn’t able to pick up on anything. “Yes, she has certainly proven herself as valuable.”

“I’ll bet,” Peter mumbled, too low to be heard. “So, tell me again why Janine’s coming?”

Egon looked at Peter with a straight face. “We don’t know exactly what it is that we’re dealing with as far as this ghost is concerned. If it proves to be dangerous, an extra set of hands will be helpful.”

“But she doesn’t know how to use the equipment!” Peter pointed out.

“Then teach her,” Egon deadpanned.

“Fair enough,” Peter muttered. “I’ll give her a crash course as soon as we get there.”

Once Ray finished his shower, Winston and Peter took their turns. They quickly fell asleep after a wake up call had been scheduled. 

***********************  
It was 5:30am the next morning. The guys were woken by a loud pounding on the hotel room door. “THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL!” Janine had set them up in a suite so there were no adjoining rooms; the closest one was at the opposite end of the hall. So her screaming didn’t wake anyone else up. 

“Whaaatttt?” Peter moaned as he made his way to the door. He opened it to see Janine’s bubbly face, smirking wildly. He was wearing blue pajama pants with smiley faces on them and no shirt. 

“Mornin’ Dr. V! Nice jammies!” She moved past him and walked in the room. 

Winston sat up and cut on the lamp. 

Ray pulled the covers over his head. 

Egon sleepily reached for his glasses, sitting up and blinking repeatedly until his eyes adjusted to the light. Once he saw Janine, he smiled instantly. 

“Janine, what the hell are ya doin’ here so early?!” Peter whined, rubbing his eyes. 

“Making sure you guys are up and ready in time to make our flight!” 

“You’re damn lucky none of us sleep in the nude!” 

She waved her hand dismissively at Peter as she walked across the room and opened the blinds. “Ah, I’m sure I wouldn’t be missing anything.”

Peter rolled his eyes and went into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. 

“He’s not a morning person,” Winston apologized. 

“Nah, he’s not that great in the afternoon either,” Janine replied with a giggle. “Now that you’re up, I’ll step out, let you boys get ready. I’ll be in the lobby.”

Ray, finally pulling himself out from under the covers, asked, “our flight leaves at 9:00. Why do we have to be up now?”

“It takes a while to get through security. But mostly, I needed to make sure Dr. V got his ass in gear.” Janine then left the room. 

**********************  
The wait to get up to the boarding area took a little longer than they had expected. But thankfully, due to Janine’s wake up call, they made it. She had already gotten permission to get their equipment loaded onto the plane. 

Soon, the plane was airborne and they were on their way to Las Vegas. No one was surprised that Janine was seated next to Egon. What did surprise them is how professional they were the entire trip. But Peter’s instincts told him something was going on, and he was determined to figure out what.


	3. Gathering Evidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has arrived in Las Vegas. Now they need to gather evidence to see what they’re up against. And Peter, Ray and Winston are still trying to figure out what, if anything, is going on between Egon and Janine.

The Ghostbusters and Janine arrived at their destination. Janine went to the baggage clerk to make sure the equipment was handled properly while the guys got their luggage. 

Ray grabbed Janine’s suitcase off the turntable along with his own. 

Egon quickly came up beside him. “Thank you Raymond. I’ll take Janine’s suitcase to her.”

“Oh! Umm, ok. I mean, I was gonna do it but ….,”

“Nonsense! You still have another bag to get.” Egon smiled while taking the suitcase from Ray. He then turned and headed towards where Janine was. 

Winston walked up to Ray, having already found his bags. “Hey m’man! What’s up?”

“I saw Janine’s luggage and grabbed it. I figured I’d get mine then take hers to her. But Iggy took it from me; said he’d do it.”

“Sounds ok. Why do you look confused?”

“It’s more like the way he did it. He was adamant about it. He wasn’t mean or anything, just ….. like he wanted to be the one who gave it to her.”

Winston grinned. “Sounds like he wants to be her white knight!”

Ray smiled. 

Peter finally made it, having found his luggage. “Ok! Let’s get to the hotel! Janine says it’s right across the street from our client’s casino!”

Egon and Janine had gotten the equipment loaded onto a dollie and met up with the others. 

As they walked out of the terminal, Peter sidled up to Janine as Winston hailed a cab. “Soooooo, what’s the sleeping arrangements?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Janine looked at him with a stern expression on her face. “I got a suite for you guys and I’ve got a room down the hall.”

“Ohhhh! A SUITE?!” Peter said, suddenly very excited. 

Janine rolled her eyes. “Yes, it has a mini bar!”

Peter wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her up to him. “Oh Janine! You’re the best!” 

She smiled. “I try.” She quickly stole a glance at Egon, who winked at her playfully. 

Ray saw the exchange but kept quiet. “We’re gonna need to keep our eyes on those two,” he thought to himself. 

**************************  
They finally made it to their hotel and got checked in, unloading their luggage and equipment. Then they walked across the street to the casino, Janine leading the way. 

She quickly made her way to the teller area. “I’m Ms. Melnitz; I’m looking for Mr. Shively. The Ghostbusters are here.”

“Yes! Excuse me one moment; I’ll get him for you!” chirped the young man behind the window. 

The guys were staring in awe at their surroundings. The casino was quite plush with plenty of different game tables. Red carpet covered the floors, a huge chandelier hung in the middle of the lobby, giving the room a larger feel. The gaming area was well lit with smaller and brighter light fixtures. Neon lights lined the top of the walls where the slot machines were. It was already crowded, the music playing just loudly enough to blend into the jabbering of everyone at the gaming tables. 

Peter’s attention was torn between the games and the lovely waitresses prancing around in skimpy, glittery outfits. 

Just then, a short, stocky gentleman wearing a bright gold colored suit covered in sequins approached. “Ah, Ghostbusters!” He held out both arms, greeting them. “Welcome to The Prancing Pony!” 

Peter smiled, walking forward and extending his hand. “Hello! I’m Dr. Peter Venkman!”

“Yes, Dr. Venkman! I’m Mr. Carl Smithers, owner of this fine establishment as well as the hotel you’re staying at!”

“Yes, and may I introduce my associates: Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Ray Stantz, Mr. Winston Zeddemore, and you’ve already spoken with our lovely secretary Ms. Janine Melnitz!”

“Yes, Ms. Melnitz!” He stepped forward, gently taking her hand, raising it to his lips and brushing a kiss on the back of her hand. “A pleasure to finally meet you in person. I must say, I’ve always had a thing for redheads!” He smiled cheekily at her.

Janine’s stomach turned as she tried to hide her disgust at the man’s flirting. She pulled her hand away. “Nice to meet you too, Mr. Smithers.”

He addressed the entire group. “I made arrangements for you all to stay across the street because I wanted to keep the hotel rooms here fairly empty, in case this ghost problem gets worse.”

“Not a bad idea!” Ray agreed. “But we’ll need to investigate before we’ll know exactly what we’re dealing with.”

“Of course, of course!” Mr. Smithers replied. “You all have free reign of wherever you need to go! My employees already know that, and they’ve been told to help you out in any way they can.” He then looked at Janine. “And so will I,” he said, smirking.

Janine subconsciously stepped back a bit, inching closer to Egon. 

In an effort to politely remove Janine from the situation, Egon stepped forward to address Mr. Smithers. “Thank you! I have my PKE meter; we’ll start by taking readings to ascertain the level of potential psycho kinetic energy.”

Ray translated so Mr. Smithers understood. “We’re gonna find out how dangerous this thing is and if there’s more than one.”

Mr. Smithers smiled. “Ah, yes! Very good! I’ll be in my office if you should need anything.” He then returned to his office. 

Janine relaxed. “Thanks. That guy was giving me the creeps!”

“Yeah, not one of the smoothest come ons I’ve seen,” Peter stated. 

“Come on, let’s see what we’re dealing with!” Winston urged. 

The group made their way to the hotel area. “He told me the ghost was last seen on the twentieth floor.”

“What is it with these things and haunting the highest floors?!” Peter whined.

“At least we can take the elevator!” Ray pointed out. 

They arrived on the twentieth floor. Egon led the way with his PKE meter. He suddenly stopped, signaling for everyone to be quiet. He quietly and slowly moved forward, the meter’s arms raising ever so slightly. He stopped outside the storage closet. 

Ray inched a bit closer to where Egon was standing. “Whatcha got?” he whispered, curious as to what reading was being given. 

“A low Class 2,” Egon replied in a whisper. 

Suddenly, the door flew open as if a strong gust of wind had blown it open! A pink and white colored blob hurdled towards them! Egon and Ray ducked, barely missing the ghost as it screamed loudly. It went through the adjoining wall and out of the building - for now. 

“Is it gone?” Ray asked. 

Egon waited until silence for a moment, watching the PKE meter. The arms had returned to the resting position with no readings at all. “Yes.”

“Let’s go get our gear! Let’s get this thing!” Peter announced.

“First of all, Ray and I need to look into these readings. Secondly, you and Winston can train Janine on how to use the pack,” Egon said. 

They returned to their hotel rooms to get prepared. Egon and Ray opened up their reference books while Winston and Peter took two proton packs and a ghost trap to the parking area behind the building. 

Winston took an empty soda bottle and sat it down on the far end of the empty parking lot. Peter helped Janine hook herself into the pack. He showed her the power button and how to adjust the thrower’s streams. 

“It’s gonna give a kick when you fire so be ready,” Peter advised her. “But you’ll get used to it.”

Winston joined them. “Ok, aim at that bottle over there with the low setting. It won’t scatter glass very far on low. I wanna see how good your aim is.”

Janine took a moment to gauge the distance, aimed the thrower and fired. She stumbled back slightly at the kickback but quickly regained her footing. Her first shot missed terribly due to the surge of power. But she fired a second time, prepared for the kick, and hit the bottle. 

“Damn! Maybe we should call you Sure Shot?!” Peter exclaimed. 

Janine squealed in delight. “That was awesome!” 

“Now a soda bottle is one thing; a ghost is completely different!” Winston pointed out.

“Yeah, it’s a shame we don’t have one to use as practice,” Peter groaned. 

“Guess I’ll just have to learn on the job like you guys did!” Janine said. 

“Let’s at least go over the basics of how the trap works,” Winston suggested. “We’ll get around to using a real ghost later.”

Meanwhile, Egon and Ray were busy looking through their reference books. They had only the PKE readings and the physical appearance to go by. 

Egon had managed to get a sample of pink goo that the ghost had left in the storage room. He was studying the sample very closely under the microscope he had packed. 

“Got anything?” Ray asked. 

“I believe so; however, I’m not entirely sure how this will help or hinder us?”

“What is it?”

Egon sat back and removed his glasses, cleaning them with the corner of his shirt. “Take a look,” he offered and scooted his chair away from the desk.

Ray leaned in and peered through the microscope. “Wow! It seems to be …. growing?!” He stood and looked at Egon for further explanation.

“Reproducing, to be exact.”

“Into what?!”

“I’m not sure.”

Just then, the others came in, Janine leading the way. “Egon! Ray! That was so FUN!” She was a bit excited.

Winston and Peter came in behind her, all smiles. 

“She does have a natural eye for aiming!” Winston said.

“Yeah, so we’d better watch out!” Peter teased. 

Egon and Ray smiled. 

“I’m glad you were able to get some experience with the equipment,” Egon said to Janine, a devilish smile appearing.

Peter caught it but didn’t say anything. “Yeah! But the real experience is actually using it on a real ghost!”

“What have you two found out?” Winston asked. 

“Well, we’re not sure yet,” Ray replied.

“For reasons we do not yet know, the sample of slime I took at the storage closet is reproducing,” Egon explained.

“Reproducing?! By itself?!” Janine exclaimed.

Peter walked closer to her and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “You never took biology, did you?”

She glared at him. “I did! I just didn’t know this stuff reproduced!” 

“Is it dangerous?” Winston asked.

“It doesn’t appear to be, but I will need to place it in a larger container,” Egon said.

“What happens if this stuff outgrows the container?” Janine asked worriedly.

“It’ll stop reproducing once it runs out of room,” Ray assured her. “But we really need to figure out what it is exactly.”

“Well, we are in Vegas. Are you sure it’s not some lube that got spilled in that closet?” Peter replied sarcastically. 

Egon frowned. “Peter! Let’s be serious!”

Peter made his way across the room and stood next to Ray. He leaned in and said to Ray quietly, “Wonder if any of the closets at the firehouse have seen any action?” He nudged Ray’s side with his elbow.

Ray stifled a laugh and just grinned. 

“Why was it interested in the closet?” Janine asked. “I mean, did you find any other clues in there? Was it hiding in there because it was dark and quiet?”

“Good questions! I did look extensively through the closet, but I wasn’t able to find anything else,” Egon replied.

“It’s a low Class 2. I find it hard to believe that a Class 2 would be enough to freak out a whole casino full of people!” Winston said.

“Indeed, which is why we need to continue our research,” Egon urged. 

“Maybe we should ask some of the employees questions, like what did it look like, how long has it been staying in the storage closet?” Janine suggested, clearly excited about the entire experience.

“Ok! Janine, you start with that! Peter and Winston - you two go back to the closet and do another swipe of that area! Me and Iggy will keep looking through our books!” Ray said. 

Janine grabbed one of Egon’s notepads and a pen, then took off to find employees to question. Winston took an extra PKE meter and took Peter by the arm, pulling him toward the door. 

“Come on man, let’s go!”

Peter just pouted as Winston pulled him into the hall, mumbling something about wanting to play casino games.


	4. Accusations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter demands answers from Egon and Janine.

Peter walked slowly a few feet behind Winston who was taking PKE readings around the storage area. 

“So, Whaddya think?” Peter asked.

“I’m not getting anything yet; let’s go inside the closet again.”

“Not that!”

“Then what?” Winston gave Peter a confused look that seemed to say “what the hell?”

“Whaddya think about Spengs and Janine?”

Winston rolled his eyes. “I don’t know, Pete! It’s really none of our business.”

Peter smirked. “Our friend and business partner may or may not be screwing our secretary, and all you say is it’s none of our business?!”

Winston gave Peter a more stern look. “Why do YOU care? You want some of the action too?”

Peter’s expression changed to horrified. “NO! I’m just nosy! Frankly, it’d do the egghead some good to get laid! As far as I know, he hasn’t had any since college! I just thought, him being my best friend and all, that he would’ve told me - his best friend!”

Winston laughed and shook his head. “Let’s get this ghost taken care of. Then you can grill Egon and Janine all you want, ok?”

Peter shrugged his shoulders. “Sure.”

Meanwhile, Janine was interviewing some of the employees. So far, she had spoken to four and had found out this ghost had been seen at different times but always close by the storage closet. The employee that she wanted to talk to the most was the head of security, Officer Ron Adams, but he was nowhere to be found. But Janine was not deterred. She simply planned on finding him later. 

She returned to the hotel room. Ray was still reading. Egon looked up and smiled. He stood and walked up to Janine. “If you don’t mind, let’s go to your room to discuss your notes. I don’t want to disturb Ray.”

“Oh ok, sure!” Janine replied happily.

“I’ll be back in a few moments,” he said softly to Ray.

“Hmm? Yeah, ok,” Ray absently replied, still engrossed in his reading. 

Egon accompanied Janine down the hall to her room. Janine threw her notepad down on the desk and practically jumped into Egon’s arms. They shared a deep, passionate kiss, Egon’s hands roaming down her arms and settling at the small of her back.

Janine broke away from the kiss to catch her breath. “I’ve been dying to do that since we got here!” she said breathlessly. 

“So have I,” Egon replied huskily. “I have a plan on how we can spend more time together without the guys being curious.”

“Oh yeah? I’m all ears. Cause Dr. Venkman is getting antsy; I can tell!” Janine said with a hearty laugh. 

Meanwhile, Peter and Winston returned to the hotel room. “Hey! Where’s Spengs?” Peter asked as he grabbed a cold beer from the fridge. 

Ray was pulled from his research by the door slamming. “Umm, he went with Janine back to her room to go over her notes.”

Peter exchanged a wolfish grin with Winston. “I bet!” He ran out of the room and down the hall to Janine’s room. He knocked on the door hard. “OPEN UP YOU TWO! I WANT ANSWERS!”

The door opened, a very enraged Janine standing there with a look of pure evil on her face. “What the FUCK is wrong with YOU?!”

Peter grinned and walked into the room, pushing by Janine. Winston and Ray walked inside slowly and cautiously. Peter’s smug smile faded when he saw Egon sitting at the desk reading Janine’s notes. 

“You need something, DOCTOR VENKMAN?!” she demanded.

“Ummm, guess I was wrong?” Peter said sheepishly.

“About what?” Egon asked, genuinely confused.

“What’s going on? Are you two fooling around?” Peter asked sternly. 

Janine crosses her arms, trying to keep her composure. “What kinda girl do you think I am?!”

Winston figured he’d step forward and get Peter out of the hot seat before he said something to get himself slapped. “I think what we’ve all been wondering is whether you two are dating? I myself have noticed over the past month or so that you two have been spending a lot of time together, exchanging cute looks, and stuff. Personally, I’m ok with it as long as it doesn’t affect the business in a negative way.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen it too. I think it’s sweet!” Ray said.

Egon shook his head and smiled. “Gentlemen, your imaginations are running overtime. Janine and I have been going over case files and developing a flow chart of questions for her to ask prospective clients when determining the scale of emergency of calls when they come in.”

Janine opened up another notepad, showing them the diagram that they had devised. Winston, Ray and Peter looked over it.

“Wow! That’s impressive!” Ray exclaimed, taking the notepad from Janine. 

“Yeah! How long did this take?” Winston asked.

“It’s still a work in progress,” Janine replied. “But at least I’ve got something to start with. I was worried about sending you guys out on what we think are simple calls and it turns out to be dangerous. At least this way, we can know more about what you’re dealing with ahead of time.”

Peter was still not completely convinced. “Yeah, that’s good, really good. But, I’m still gonna watch you two!” He gave Egon a sly grin as he left the room. 

Ray felt the need for an apology. “Hey look, I’m sorry about Peter. He’s been suggesting …. well, if you ARE dating, we’re ok with it.”

Winston nodded in agreement. 

After they left, Janine slumped down onto the bed, a look of sheer relief on her face. “Egon, I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up. Why not just tell ‘em now? We know now they’re ok with it.”

Egon smiled. “Just keep in mind my proposition. That will put an end to their speculating.”

Janine stood and sauntered over to Egon, sitting down in his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Yes, I love your idea and can’t wait!” She kissed him tenderly on the lips. “Come on, let’s get this ghost!”


	5. The Plot Thickens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ghostbusters find out there’s more going on at this casino than they thought.

Egon and Janine walked up the hall to the guys’ room. Ray was jabbering excitedly with Winston and Peter. 

“Spengs! Translate this!” Peter said with a laugh.

“What’s going on?” Egon asked Ray.

He took a moment to catch his breath, then started his explanation, more slowly and in layman’s terms. “I found that pink slime! What you have as a sample is actually the baby form of the big one that came out of the closet!”

“Awwww, a BABY!” Janine exclaimed.

“We can’t keep it so don’t go getting all maternal! It’s not a kitten!” Peter warned her.

“We can’t bust it! Can we?” she asked.

“Ray, what else? We’ll determine later how to deal with it,” Egon said.

“According to the reference book, this baby is gonna grow into a full sized ghost in a matter of days!” Ray continued.

“So the one we saw earlier is the mom?” Winston asked.

“Yeah! Looks like she’s using the storage closet as the nursery!”

“That’s why she flew out at Egon! She’s protecting her baby!” Janine said.

“Well, we’ve gotta catch both of them!” Peter replied.

Janine looked at him in shock. “WHAT?! You CAN’T!”

“Look Janine, it’s not like they’re alive anyway!” 

“You can’t mean that?!”

Peter looked at the others for help. “Tell her guys; we can’t just let ‘em go!”

Egon looked back to Ray. “What else did you find out?”

Ray continued. “The mother ghost is harmless on her own. But the baby has potential to grow up to three times that size.”

“A ghost that size loose in here could do some real damage!” Winston said.

“Indeed,” Egon agreed. “Janine, I didn’t finish reading over your notes. What did you find out from the employees?”

“I only spoke to a few, but they said they’ve seen the ghost a few times, always around that same area. She’s never physically hurt anyone, just scared them. But the employee I really wanna talk to is Ron Adams, head of security. He’s been here the longest, but every time I’ve tried to find him, he’s out on his rounds.”

“What makes you think he’s got the answers?” Peter asked. 

Janine shrugged her shoulders. “Just a feeling.”

“The last time you said that, it almost came true!” Egon said.

The others looked at him confused. Egon explained. “When I was testing Louis Tully in the lab before we faced Gozer, Janine said she had a feeling that we were going to die. We almost did.”

“Then we’d better find this Ron Adams guy! See what he knows!” Winston said.

Janine agreed and ran to her room to get her notepad. While she was gone, Ray looked at Egon. “You know, if Janine IS psychic, we’ll need to test her!”

Egon’s brow arched. “You May have a point! We’ll need to discuss that at a later time.”

Janine returned with her notepad. “I’m gonna go find this guy. You four do whatever you need to do. I’ll meet back up with you later!” She turned and ran to the elevator.

Peter grinned. “She’s having a blast playing super spy, isn’t she?”

“Why not? This is the most excitement she’s seen since the containment unit blew!” Winston laughed.

“Yeah, maybe?” Peter muttered, glancing at Egon. 

*****************  
Janine went down to the manager’s office. To her dismay, Mr. Smithers was there. “Hi Mr. Smithers. I’m looking for Ron Adams. Have you seen him?”

Mr. Smithers stood, putting on his best smile. “Ms. Melnitz, so nice to see you again! I’m afraid I still haven’t seen him since you last asked. Why don’t I give you the grand tour as we look for him?” He offered his arm.

She didn’t want to, but thought it might be the best way to find Ron. So, she looped her arm through his as they made their way into the casino area. 

Janine had endured nearly thirty minutes of gloating from Mr. Smithers when suddenly, Ron Adams was spotted. “Ron! Come over here!” Mr. Smithers yelled, gesturing with his hand to meet him and Janine. 

Ron approached, clearly annoyed. “Carl, I’ve got rounds to make!” 

“This won’t take long! Ron, this is Janine Melnitz with the Ghostbusters. She’s been looking for you.”

Ron shook Janine’s hand, giving her a smile that gave her an uneasy feeling. “Nice to meet you. How can I be of service?”

Janine returned a warm smile, and began her questions. “It’s my understanding that you’ve been here the longest. How many times have you seen the ghost? And where have you seen it?”

“I have seen the ghost only a few times and that’s been recently. This is the first time I’ve seen it ….. ever. There has never been any problems like this before. And it’s always close to the storage closet on the twenty-second floor.”

Janine narrowed her eyes. “Thanks for your time, Mr. Adams. And thank you, Mr. Smithers.” She excused herself quickly and made her way to the room. She found the guys in their suite. Egon and Ray were inspecting the sample of goo that was still growing; Winston was making sure the packs had charged; and Peter was sitting on the balcony with a beer looking at the scenery (aka, women in bikinis at the pool).

“Guys! We need to check out the twenty-second floor’s storage closet!”

They all had her undivided attention. Even Peter had come back inside. 

“Janine, we were looking in the closet on the twentieth floor,” Egon reminded her.

“Yep, but I finally had a little chat with Ron Adams. He said this is the only ghost problem they’ve ever had here, and that he’s seen it on the twenty-SECOND floor! I didn’t tell him about the twentieth floor!”

“Hmm, sounds like we might have a second ghost?” Winston speculated.

“Cool! Let’s go check it out!” Ray said.

The guys geared up and prepared to go check out the twenty-second floor. Egon stopped Janine. “I think for now, it’s best for you to stay here. At least, until we know what we’re dealing with.”

“Sure,” she replied sadly. 

********************  
The Ghostbusters arrived on the twenty-second floor. Egon led the way with his PKE meter. They had taken a few steps from the elevator when the meter’s alarm went off, the arms raised all the way up! 

“Get ready! Class 6 coming our way!” Egon warned. 

Before then stood a massive seven foot hulking being. It was very muscular covered in a deep burgundy fur standing upright like a human. It growled at them showing off its long fangs. It also had long claws on its hands and feet. 

“What. The. Hell. Is. That?” Peter asked, obviously a bit taken back by the creature. 

Even Winston showed some intimidation by this thing. “I don’t know man, but we’d better take it down on the first try.”

“We can’t do but so much in the hallway!” Ray pointed out. 

“Then let’s make sure we don’t miss!” Peter said. “HIT IT!”

All four men fired their throwers. The creature dodged the streams, causing some slight damage to the wall behind it. 

“Good thing there’s no guests up here!” Ray shouted.

“Indeed!” Egon yelled. “Fire again!”

They tried again, holding the creature for a moment but it was too strong. It let out a deep and loud roar as it broke free from the streams. It bent down onto all fours and ran in the opposite direction. 

The guys ran after it, following it to the storage closet. Egon’s PKE meter alarm went off again. He checked the readings. “Be careful. Whatever is behind the door is showing massive readings.”

Winston grabbed the door knob and looked back at the his teammates. Peter and Ray nodded as they gribbed their throwers tighter. Egon put away his meter and gribbed his thrower as well. 

Winston slowly opened the door. Inside they all stared at the bright glowing portal. 

“Wow!” Ray beamed, his eyes wide with excitement. 

“That thing went back through this thing?” Peter asked.

“Apparently,” Egon replied. “I’m recording the readings to compare to reference materials back at the room.”

“Cool! Let’s hurry up before that thing comes back!” Peter said.

Egon completed his recording and they returned to their suite. They were confused and upset that their room had been ransacked. 

“What happened?” Ray asked.

Egon quickly examined his books and equipment. “Who or whatever did this was looking for something.” 

“The goo! Is it ok?!” Ray asked, rushing over to help Egon search through the clutter.

Winston and Peter joined in, uprighting furniture and picking up books that had been thrown all over the room. 

“It’s safe in Janine’s room,” Egon replied. “I thought it might be safer in her room since we are spending most of our time out of the room.”

“Let’s go make sure she’s ok!” Winston suggested. 

They knocked on her door but there was no response. Egon opened the door cautiously. They were shocked to see Janine’s room in the same condition as theirs. 

“JANINE!” Egon shouted. For the first time, the others could see his true emotions for their Secretary spilling out. “JANINE!” 

They searched the entire room but she was not there. Egon then looked in the back of the closet. He removed a medium sized metal box. 

“Hey, that’s the box we put our ghost traps in on the plane!” Ray pointed out. 

Egon opened the box to reveal the slime sample that he had hidden. “Good, it’s still safe.”

“It’s my guess that whoever took Janine was looking for that!” Winston said.

“Yeah, so now Janine’s the bait,” Peter replied coldly. 

“There’s more going on here than just a ghost haunting,” Egon said. 

“Let’s go find Mr. Smithers,” Peter said.


	6. A Mother’s Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Winston find out more about the ghostly figure and the baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Alicorn8120 for the bit about portals being in closets vs refrigerators! 😊

Egon returned the slime in the metal box to its hiding place in the back of Janine’s closet. Then they made their way downstairs to Mr. Smithers’ office. 

Peter walked up to the office door, knocked once, then barged in. “We need to talk!”

Mr. Smithers jumped and turned his attention to the men standing before him. “Dr. Venkman! What’s going on?!”

“Ms. Melnitz is missing and both of our rooms have been completely destroyed!” Egon said sternly.

“Oh no! I hope nothing bad has happened?!” Mr. Smithers’ facial expression showed genuine sincerity and concern. 

“Has this happened before?” Winston asked. 

“No, never! What do you think the reason was?”

“It’s too soon to say,” Egon replied, not wanting to let on to Mr. Smithers about the slime sample. 

“She last spoke with Mr. Adams. Where is he?” Ray asked.

Mr. Smithers shook his head. “I haven’t seen him since Ms. Melnitz spoke to him earlier.”

“Mr. Smithers, we’re gonna have to ask you to temporarily evacuate the casino,” Peter said. “We’ve discovered a second entity and it’s gonna probably take most of this building for us to capture it. I don’t want to take any chances of anyone getting hurt.”

“Do you really think that’s necessary?” Mr. Smithers asked warily.

“It is a possibility that we may be able to contain the second entity to the twenty-second floor,” Egon calmly replied.

“Wait a minute! I thought this thing was on the twentieth floor!” Mr. Smithers said alarmed.

“Yeah, that’s where we found the first ghost,” Ray said. “A second and more dangerous entity was found on the twenty-second floor.”

Mr. Smithers shook his head again. “I can’t believe this!”

Peter placed a comforting hand on the man’s shoulder. “This is why you called us, Sir. And we will get these things.”

Mr. Smithers took a moment to consider the situation. Finally, he agreed. “You guys do what you need to do. I’ll take care of evacuating the casino. Give me an hour or so.”

The men agreed and decided in the meantime, they would revisit the portal in the closet. As they rode the elevator up to the twenty-second floor, Peter voiced what the others were thinking. 

“Hey Big Guy, I’m sure Janine is ok. This thing won’t hurt her because it needs her to get us.”

Egon sighed. “I suppose I should confess that Janine and I have been spending time together during these last few weeks.”

Peter, Winston and Ray all exchanged grins. 

“Spending time together? Like dating?” Ray asked.

“We haven’t really had the time to date per say, but we have been spending time with each other outside the office.”

“As in her apartment?” Winston asked.

“Or the storage closet at the firehouse?” Peter asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Egon smiled. “At her apartment. Those times that I said I was going to the library to do research? Well …..”

“I repeat: the storage closet at the firehouse?” Peter asked again.

Egon gave him a look that was somewhat mischievous. “Peter, what makes you think there’s enough room in there?”

Peter’s eyes widened. “So, you TRIED?!”

At that moment, the bell dinged and the elevator doors opened on the twenty-second floor. 

“Let’s go!” Egon urged, leading the way with his PKE meter.

They powered up their proton packs and made their way to the closet. Winston again slowly opened the door. The portal was still there. 

Egon took readings with the meter. “The readings are holding steady; the portal is stable.”

“Do we go in?” Peter asked. 

“I don’t see any other option of getting Janine back and finding this creature,” Egon replied.

“Let’s find a rope or cord or something that we can use to tie around us. One of us can go in and look around. The others can pull him back?” Ray suggested.

Peter shook his head. “What the HELL is a portal doing in a freakin’ CLOSET?!”

“Ms. Barrett had one in her refrigerator,” Egon deadpanned. 

“Fair enough,” Peter said, shrugging his shoulders. “Give me the rope or whatever; I’ll go.”

They searched the closet area for anything they could use. Finally, Winston held up an extension cord. Peter took one end and tied it tightly around his waist. The others held the other end. 

“Well, here goes!” Peter quipped, then stepped inside. 

Winston, Egon and Ray held their end of the cord tightly, not feeling any resistance. After a few minutes, Peter returned. He looked fine.

“It’s pretty cool! Looks kind of like a big meadow in the midwest!” Peter said. 

“Did you find Janine?” Egon asked urgently.

“No, but I did see where she might be! I could see what looked like a wooded area on the far side of the meadow. It almost looked like a hut or something.”

“I’ll stay here and see if this portal closes at any time. If it stays open for any long period of time, we can assume it’s safe for all of us to enter, find Janine and return before it closes again,” Egon suggested.

“Sounds good. What should we do? Find Mr. Adams?” Winston asked.

“Yeah, and we’ll make sure the casino has been evacuated,” Peter added.

“I’ll stay with Iggy,” Ray offered. 

Winston and Peter left to check the casino area. Mr. Smithers has held up his end of the deal. He had temporarily shut it down and evacuated. 

Suddenly, the pink ghost from the first encounter appeared in the corner of the room. 

“Pete! The mother ghost!” Winston said quietly.

Peter put down his thrower and turned off his pack. 

“Man, are you NUTS?!” Winston asked.

“If she wanted to hurt us, she would have the first time she saw us,” Peter replied calmly. “Let me try something.” He slowly walked towards the ghost, smiling. He got about thirty feet away from her and spoke softly. “Hey there! I’m Peter. Me and my friends won’t hurt you. Are you looking for your baby?” He used his hands to mimic a small shape.

The ghost slowly nodded. 

“Is that other thing looking for it?”

She nodded again. 

“We have it; it’s safe. But we need to get rid of the big hairy thing. Do you understand?” Peter spoke slowly. 

The ghost looked at him, then nodded slowly. 

“We don’t want to hurt you or your baby. But we don’t want that thing to get you either. I wish you could talk.” Peter said sadly. 

Winston had walked up during this time. He laid a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Look!” he whispered.

Peter raised his head and was amazed. The ghost was slowly materializing into a woman! She had long golden hair and the bluest eyes Peter had ever seen. She wore a long flowing white robe. 

She slowly walked up to Peter and Winston. “My name is Amanda. This is what I used to look like before …,” her voice trailed off, her eyes saddened.

“What happened?” Winston asked.

“I was the wife of a mobster back in 1946. He was the best back then at what he did. I didn’t approve of his lifestyle but I had fallen in love with him before all that started. After we were married, I was trapped. I gave birth to our son, but I knew he would eventually be trained in how to become the next crime boss. I didn’t want that kind of life for our son. So, I did the only thing I could do: I snuck us out late one night. I was trying to leave the country, heading to Mexico. But his men caught up to us right before we crossed the border. He punished me when we got back; he was going to take away our son and see to it that I died.”

Winston and Peter could tell this was tearing her apart by reliving this, but things were starting to make sense. 

“I know it’s hard but please continue. We need to know what happened so we can help you,” Peter begged.

The ghost composed herself and continued. “I waited a few hours later to make sure everyone was asleep. I crushed my sleeping pills and put them in his formula. Once he went to sleep, I took the rest of them. God help me but I knew I was as good as dead. And I didn’t want my baby raised to be a killer!” 

Peter reached over and gently placed a hand on the ghost’s shoulder, although it went right through. 

“Is this other creature by any chance after you?” Winston asked, putting the pieces together.

“Yes! And you have my BABY!” she screamed.

“Take it easy, he’s ok! He’s safely hidden!” Peter reassured her.

The ghost calmed back down. “I’ve been successful all these years in keeping him hidden, but I don’t think I can much longer!” 

“You’ve got us now, and we’re gonna help you,” Peter said. 

“I’m still a bit new at this stuff so please forgive me,” Winston said, “but why didn’t you and your son go to heaven?” 

“I don’t know. At first, I thought we had. But soon I realized that we were both stuck in these ghostly forms here!”

“We’ve gotta find Spengs and Ray,” Peter urged. “They can answer these questions, plus the ones I have. Like, who is this other creature and why is it after you and the baby?”

“I don’t know how, but it’s Bruce! I know it is!” Amanda said. 

“The crime boss?” Winston clarified.

She nodded. 

Peter grabbed his radio. “Spengs, Ray; come in.”

“Ray here!”

“How’s that portal doing?”

“It’s steadily holding! I think we’ll be able to go in!”

“Well, before we do, me and Winston have met someone you two need to meet. And we’ve got questions that need answering.”

“Great! Let’s meet back at the room!”

“Copy that, Ray.” 

Peter looked at Amanda and smiled. “Come with us. I’d like you to meet our friends.”


	7. The Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ghostbusters go through the portal for answers.

Peter and Winston quickly made their way back to the room. Amanda returned to her other ghostly form and made her way there, too. Egon and Ray soon joined them. 

“What’s so important?” Egon asked, still worried about Janine. 

“Winston and I met someone; her name is Amanda,” Peter replied. 

At the mention of her name, the pink ghost appeared in the middle of the room. Egon and Ray watched in awe as she transformed to the ghostly figure Peter had just spoken to.

“WOW!” Ray beamed. “This is amazing! You actually TALKED TO HER?!”

“She can hear you, Ray,” Peter replied. “Just talk.”

Amanda looked at Peter, hesitant to move or speak. 

Peter just smiled back at her. “It’s ok; these are our friends. They’re here to help.”

“My name is Amanda. I was married to Bruce Marietto in 1946. We met, fell in love and married before he became the crime boss and monster that he was. We had a son. As his power and notoriety increased, I realized that he would eventually train our son to follow in his footsteps. I couldn’t bear the thought of that so I took him and snuck out one night, heading for Mexico. But his men caught us before we made it and returned us to Bruce. He was not forgiving to me. I was frightened and knew he would eventually kill me. So later that night, I crushed some sleeping pills and put them in my baby’s bottle. I fed it to him. Once he fell asleep, I took the rest of them. This other thing that you all have seen is after us. It’s Bruce and he’s been chasing us all these years!” She burst into tears.

Ray and Egon were touched by her story. 

“Ok, questions: why didn’t Amanda and her son cross over? And how is Bruce this monster thing that’s been chasing them?” Peter asked. 

Egon began searching through his books; Ray thought for a moment.

“Well, usually when people don’t cross over, it’s because they have unfinished business. In this case, I suppose maybe it’s because of how or why the deaths occurred?”

“You mean because it was suicide?” Winston asked.

“Yeah but because of the extreme duress it was done under? I mean, Amanda did what she did out of fear and love.”

“Then what about this other thing?” Peter asked. “And what’s Janine got to do with it?”

“Janine doesn’t have anything to do with it; she’s bait to probably get us to turn over Amanda and the baby,” Ray explained. Then his eyes widened. “THE BABY! You’re gonna want him back!” He took off to Janine’s room and returned shortly with the metal box. He carefully set it down on the floor in front of Amanda and opened it.

Slowly, the blob that had grown in size began to ooze out of the box. Then it transformed into a ghostly figure of a young man that bore a strong resemblance to Amanda. He was also dressed in a long flowing robe and had the blue eyes of his mother. However, his hair was thick and deep brown.

“Ok, another question: why did the baby age and not the mother?” Winston asked. 

Egon stood and cleared his throat, still holding the book. “I believe I can answer that.”

Everyone including Amanda and her son, looked at him. 

Egon adjusted his glasses and began: “According to my information here, Amanda and her son did cross over. But their essence was pulled back to the living realm.”

“Why, how and by whom?” Winston asked. 

Egon continued. “Without looking up the history of what happened after Amanda and her son passed, it’s difficult to know for sure. But at some point, Bruce sought out and received the assistance of a powerful being to pull his son and Amanda back. But I believe he paid a price for this assistance; perhaps that’s why he’s been transformed into this large furry creature.”

“That would explain why it’s been chasing Amanda all this time.” Ray said.

“Bruce wants to finish the job he started back in the 40s,” Winston added.

“So, Beasty has kidnapped Janine and taken her back through this portal in hopes of making a trade?” Peter asked. 

“I’m afraid so,” Egon replied.

“NO! I did NOT do what I did in order for him to take my son!” Amanda shouted.

“I’m not implying that we’re going to turn you over,” Egon said. “I’m simply saying that I believe that is his intention.”

“We need to go through that portal and find Janine. Face this thing head on and maybe we’ll find out what’s going on!” Winston said. “I for one wanna know what deal Bruce made. I mean, we might have a third entity to deal with here!”

“Agreed,” Egon replied.

“But we can’t just go barreling in! We need a plan!” Ray urged. 

Peter walked up to the young male ghost. “My name is Peter; what’s yours?”

The ghost looked at his mother, who nodded. He looked back at Peter. “Joshua.”

Peter smiled. “I just thought you’d appreciate it if we called you by your name instead of ‘ghost guy’ or ‘the baby.’”

Joshua smiled.

Peter continued. “How do you feel about all of this? No one has asked you.”

Joshua took a moment before speaking. “I understand why my mother did it. I forgave her for that a while back. But if this beast creature really is my dad, I would like the opportunity to try and reason with him. Perhaps I could try and get your lady friend back?”

“JOSHUA!” Amanda screamed. “This THING that you call your father is a MONSTER!”

“I need to at least try. I’m already dead; what more can he do?” Joshua sadly replied.

Amanda nodded.

Ray had started looking through a book he had during this time. “Guys, I think I know why Janine had such a hard time tracking down Ron Adams.”

Everyone looked at him, waiting.

“Ron is actually a warlock.”

“What?” Winston asked. 

“Ron is a warlock; a male witch or wizard. If this is who Bruce made a deal with, then he’s the one we need to focus on.” Ray explained. “I got to thinking about what Janine had said; she had a hard time finding him. Then I got to thinking where that portal came from. It’s not something that a creature like this Bruce thing can just conjure up. It’s a theory at this point, but I think it’s worth considering.”

They all agreed. 

“Ok, so here’s the plan: we’re gonna gear up and go into that portal. It’s stable enough that we can go in and get back. We find Janine and get the hell back out,” Peter instructed.

“If we run into that beast thing, do we bust it or talk to it?” Ray asked. 

“Let Joshua talk to him. If it is Bruce, see if we can find out what happened,” Winston suggested.

With everyone in agreement, the Ghostbusters geared up. The entire group made their way to the twenty-second floor where the portal is. 

“Wait a minute guys,” Winston said in the elevator. “Janine said that Ron told her about seeing a ghost on the twenty-second floor but she hadn’t said which floor. He didn’t know we had already checked the twentieth floor.”

“You think he’s trying to lead us into a trap?” Peter asked. 

“It seems very likely.”

“Alright, let’s be extra careful. Another reason Ray’s theory about him being a wizard might be right.”

Once they arrived on the floor, they carefully took in their surroundings, searching for any possible traps. Egon led them to the storage closet and opened the door. The portal was still open. Slowly, each Buster stepped through. Amanda and Joshua followed. 

They made their way through the meadow to the wooded area. As they approached the hut, the alarm on the PKE meter sounded. 

“WATCH OUT!” Egon yelled. 

The beast appeared from the opposite side of the hut. It had been hiding behind the thick trees surrounding it. As it stood tall and roared, baring its fangs and claws, Joshua floated quickly to stand in front of the Busters. 

“STOP FATHER!”

Suddenly, the beast calmed and stared at Joshua. Amanda joined Joshua standing at his side. 

“Bruce?”

Slowly, the creature calmed completely, sitting on the ground like a dog. Then it howled, a long sad sound. 

“He can not speak. At least, not as a human,” a male voice said. 

Everyone turned their attention to the hut doorway. A tall man appeared. He was dressed in a deep purple three piece suit, his black hair slicked back. He had an evil smirk that made everyone feel uneasy. 

“Are you Ron Adams by any chance?” Peter asked, a tinge of sarcasm in his voice. 

“I am.”

“Where is Janine? What have you done with her?!” Egon demanded. 

“Ahh, so my idea of taking her worked? I felt sure that her tagging along on this trip meant that she was important to someone.” He watched as Egon’s face betrayed his stoic appearance. “I have not harmed her … yet. Her well-being depends on you.”

“What’s happened? What kind of deal did you strike?” Ray asked.

Ron smiled. “After the loss of his wife and son, Mr. Marrietto slowly lost his mind. He became desperate to find a way to the Other Side. He sought out help from local psychics and spiritual guides with no results. Finally, he found myself.”

“I bet you made it really easy for him,” Peter said.

“I make it my business that people who are in need can find me. I made a deal with him: I would help enable him to find his wife and son but he would have to give up his human form.”

“And he agreed?!” Egon asked. 

“Mr. Marrietto was desperate. He loved his wife and son.”

“He had a weird way of showing it!” Winston argued. 

“I cannot say what is right or wrong; however, he agreed.”

“Then why have Amanda and Joshua been on the run ever since?” Egon asked.

Ron’s smile widened. “I told Bruce that I would enable him to FIND them. I said nothing about reuniting with them.”

“So they’ve been trying to evade him all this time for NOTHING?!” Winston shouted.

“That’s why their essence was pulled from heaven; instead of letting them Rest In Peace, you’ve been using them for your own twisted fun?” Ray asked.

Ron laughed. “I simply made it possible for Bruce to find them.”

“Are you Satan himself or just a distant cousin?” Peter asked. “Cause it sounds to me like Bruce made a deal with the devil!”

“Oh Dr. Venkman, Satan wishes he were me!” He raised his hands above his head, a red orb of power forming. 

The Ghostbusters fired at full power. They were able to hold Ron for a moment, but he was ultimately too powerful. He pulled away, rising into the air several feet. 

Amanda pushed Joshua behind the woods close by as they watched in horror.

Ron continued to form orbs but kept getting knocked back with every hit of the proton streams. 

“We’re not putting out enough power!” Winston yelled over the noise. 

“We’re at full power! What else can we do?!” Ray shouted.

Just then, Bruce hurled himself at Ron. His claws grabbed onto the jacket he was wearing and was pulled back down to the ground. Bruce’s fangs held Ron tightly by the throat. 

Peter signaled to the others to stop firing. They then realized that Bruce had pulled an amulet off from Ron’s neck. As soon as the creature destroyed it, Bruce transformed back to his human form. 

As Bruce stepped back, the guys fired again at Ron. Without the amulet, Ron’s powers were weaker. The guys were then able to hold him in the streams and quickly caught him in the trap. 

“Let’s get out of here!” Peter screamed.

Egon ran inside the hut, finding Janine tied up and gagged in the far corner. He quickly removed the gag and untied her. She seemed fine, just a bit shaken up. He helped her up and they ran to the portal opening.

Winston had grabbed the ghost trap containing Ron while Peter and Ray made their way to the portal. Amanda and Joshua were helping Bruce. 

Everything around them in this realm was starting to deteriorate. The ground was shaking, a darkness slowly creeping up behind them, swallowing up everything as it overtook it. 

Amanda, Joshua and Bruce made it through the portal right after Egon and Janine. Winston and Ray were next, followed by Peter. He took one last look behind him before stepping back through. In seconds, the opening was gone, leaving a normal storage closet intact. 

Egon’s PKE meter wasn’t reading anything. “It’s closed.”

They all returned to the suite, eager to figure out exactly what had just happened and get Bruce’s side of the story.


	8. Happy Endings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ghostbusters help the ghosts reunite; Egon and Janine make an announcement.

Back at the hotel suite, everyone was eager to connect all the dots to what seemed like a very confusing situation. Peter called Mr. Smithers’ office and briefly filled him in. Mr. Smithers joined them in the room. 

Egon was fussing over Janine, checking her over for any signs of injuries. The guys thought it was cute. 

“Spengs, she looks ok to me!” Peter said with a smile.

Janine blushed. “I’m ok, really,” she whispered to Egon. 

Temporarily satisfied, Egon sat back on the small couch with Janine, holding her hand. 

Mr. Smithers started the conversation. “Did you get the ghost or not?”

Peter chimed in. “Yes sir, just not the one we expected.”

“What’s that mean?”

Ray raised his voice a bit. “Amanda! Joshua! Bruce! Please join us.”

The three ghosts appeared on the far side of the room by the window. 

Mr. Smithers stepped back a bit, his eyes wide in fear. “Wh-who are they?”

Egon explained. “This is Bruce and Amanda Marietto and their son Joshua.”

“The crime lord from the 40s?!”

“The same.”

Mr. Smithers smiled. “Oh my goodness! When I bought this property five years ago, I heard about the tragic story. The wife took the child and fled. They got caught and returned but she took her child’s life then her own. The boss searched far and wide for witches, psychics, anybody who could help him get them back. But he went crazy and nobody knew what happened to him after that. His old home and headquarters were built here. The hotel part of this establishment is built on that part of the property; the part where the casino is is built on the old garden area.”

“That’s why Amanda was hiding Joshua in the hotel! It’s where the home used to be!” Ray said excitedly.

“Bruce, can you explain to us what happened in the portal?” Peter asked politely.

Bruce stepped forward, looking a bit shy. “I was devastated. All I could think about was getting them back. I met several different people but no one was able to help. Then I met the man you called Ron. I knew him as Ronovio. He came to my home one evening, telling me he knew of my problem. He promised I would be with my family; all I needed to do was agree to be his servant. At the time, all I wanted was Amanda and Josh; I didn’t care what I had to do.”

“So you agreed and he turned you into this?” Ray asked.

“Yes. I realized too late that I was just a pawn in his twisted little game. I did finally find Amanda and Josh, but she was always one step ahead of me. They’d move and I’d have to search again. But every time I found them, I wasn’t able to communicate that I loved them and only wanted to be a family again. My appearance must have frightened her, so she fled.”

Janine had tears running down her face. “So Amanda and her child kept running thinking they were in danger when really they weren’t? That’s so sad!”

“Over time, I came to realize that the amulet Ronovio wore was the key to his power. But I wasn’t strong enough to get to it on my own. So, I took your friend (pointing to Janine). I knew you would come to save her, and I would be able to use you all to help me get Ronovio. Once the amulet was removed, his spell on me was broken.”

Amanda walked up to Bruce, cupping her hand against his face. “So you didn’t want to destroy us? You weren’t going to take Joshua away?”

Bruce smiled. “No, my love. I simply wanted to apologize. Losing the two of you made me remember what I had given up on when I had become consumed with my work. All I wanted was my family back. I hope you both can forgive me?”

Joshua joined his parents. “I forgive you, Father. I forgave mom a long time ago.”

They all held each other in a group hug. Suddenly, a bright light lit up the entire room. The Ghostbusters, Janine and Mr. Smithers watched silently as Bruce, Amanda and Joshua walked into the light. Then, it disappeared and they were gone.

“Wh-what just happened?” Mr. Smithers asked.

“We just witnessed the crossing over of the Marietto family,” Egon replied.

Janine gasped, covering her mouth, fresh tears running down her face. 

“And Ron was the ….. thing that caused all of this?!” Mr. Smithers asked.

“Yes. Ron was actually Ronovio, a powerful demon that tricked humans for his own twisted enjoyment,” Ray explained.

Smithers shook his head. “I can’t believe it! He seemed like a good guy!”

“He gave me the creeps from the minute I met him,” Janine admitted. “He was trying to find the box that Egon had put the slime in. I guess Ron knew it was really Joshua and if he could find him, he could destroy him?”

“Ronovio never intended on helping Bruce reunite with them. As you said, it was just a sick game he was playing. If he found Joshua, he could keep the upper hand over Bruce,” Egon said. 

“Either way, your ghost problem is solved!” Peter announced. 

“It is! I’ll go get the payment for your services. Are you ok, Ms. Melnitz? Do you require anything?” Mr. Smithers asked.

“Just a relaxing soak in the tub,” she replied, smiling. 

**********************  
Twenty minutes later, the guys had received their payment, split four ways. Peter, Winston and Ray had went to the casino, anxious to relax and play some of the games. Egon and Janine had mysteriously disappeared. The guys assumed Egon was helping Janine with that soak in the tub. Their relationship was no longer a secret. 

After two and a half hours of gambling, Peter joined Winston and Ray at the bar. 

“Hey Pete! Cash in your winnings?” Winston asked.

“Yeah. I got a whole twenty bucks left!” Peter said sulkily. “Good thing I set aside my part of the payment for this job, or else I’d be really upset!” 

“Me and Winston decided to stop while we were ahead!” Ray chuckled.

“Hey, where is Spengs and Janine?” Peter asked. “I figured they’d be down here by now!”

Just then, the couple walked up, both wearing smiles from ear to ear. Egon was dressed in a nice charcoal grey suit with a pink boutonnière on his lapel. Janine was wearing a champagne colored dress. The neckline was cut low but not enough to reveal anything. The skirt flowed out slightly, hitting her just above the knees. She had a pink carnation tucked behind one ear. 

Winston and Ray grinned. Peter looked at them with a surprised expression. “What have you two been up to?”

Egon smiled while Janine was practically bouncing with excitement. “Gentlemen, I am pleased to introduce you to Janine Spengler!”

“We got MARRIED!” She squealed, showing the guys her beautiful diamond ring and wedding band. 

“You sly dog!” Peter shouted. He hugged Egon, then Janine. 

“Congratulations!” Ray shouted, hugging both.

Winston held up his scotch glass. “A toast: to Dr. and Mrs. Spengler!”

Ray and Peter grabbed their glasses, clinking them together. The bartender handed two scotches to Egon and Janine, who raised their glasses. Janine took a big gulp but Egon just sat his glass back down. He rarely indulged in such things. 

“So, you two have been secretly dating?” Winston asked, grinning.

“Yes. After we defeated Gozer, I had such a rush of emotions. I knew I wanted to marry her, but Janine told me about this job. I thought it was the perfect opportunity.” Egon admitted.

“Not to mention what happened with Amanda, Bruce and Joshua?” Ray added.

“Yeah, we never know what this job is gonna bring. So, we figured we might as well make the most of each moment!” Janine said.

“Well, we’re in Las Vegas; what do the newlyweds have planned?” Peter asked.

“A quick honeymoon, so if you gentlemen will excuse us…,” Egon said, taking Janine by the hand. 

As they were leaving heading back to Janine’s hotel room, Peter shouted, “Alright, but don’t think this gives you any leverage over ME, Janine! I’m still your boss!” He laughed. 

Janine just turned and looked at Peter over her shoulder. She gave him a wicked grin, then discreetly flipped him the finger.

Winston and Ray howled with laughter. Peter shook his head. “Why do I get the feeling that me and Janine are gonna butt heads quite often?” He chuckled to himself.


End file.
